MLSG

Migrant Landbird Study Group

Promoting collaborative research for migratory landbirds across flyways

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Impact of Trichomonas gallinae infection on Turtle Doves

Research topic: Breeding ecology

Study species: Turtle Dove

Turtle doves are undergoing huge populations declines- most notably in the UK. Although this UK decline can be attributed to a reduction in breeding productivity and a lack of nesting habitat, a high prevalence of Trichomonas gallinae infection was found in a sample of this population during the breeding season of 2011.

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Turtle Dove Study Group

Study species: Turtle Dove

The Turtle Dove Study Group aims to facilitate broad cooperation between turtle-dove researchers so that we can continue to build the evidence base to develop conservation actions for the species.

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Migres Programme. Monitoring bird migration through Straits of Gibraltar

Research topic: Migration

Study species: All migrants

Migres Programme is a long-term scientific monitoring of migratory birds population across the Strait of Gibraltar, which allows:

- to detect changes in migratory populations that can be related to the trends of these species at a global level, as indicators of their conservation status;

- to detect the changes in species migratory patterns;

- to try to understand the biological meaning of these changes in relation to the current scenario of global change.

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European Roller

Research topic: Full annual cycle

Study species: European Roller

Current scientific research has shown conclusively that the total number of migratory birds globally has declined significantly in recent years as a direct result of human interference (Sanderson et al 2006; Vickery et al 2013). The charismatic European Roller Coracias garrulus is one such bird that migrates annually between Eurasia and Africa, and whose numbers are known to be in decline. Until recently this species was classified as globally Near Threatened by the IUCN and Birdlife International, and because of its vulnerable conservation status, an International Species Action Plan for the European Roller was drawn up by Birdlife International in 2008 in an effort to ensure its conservation on its northern breeding grounds (see Kovacs et al 2008).

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Stopover after sea crossing

Research topics: Ecophysiology; Migration; Stopover ecology

Research locations: Ponza, Italy; Ventotene, Italy

Study species: Passerines

We collaborate with the Progetto Piccole Isole (PPI, translated "small islands project") on two Italian islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea. These islands attract huge numbers of migrants during spring migration, probably because the birds arriving there need a short rest after having performed a long direct crossing of the Mediterranean Sea (about 500 km from the North African coast). This offers a great opportunity to study several aspects linked to stopover and migration physiology on large sample sizes from several species. Please visit the website of the Ponza station here: https://www.inanellamentoponza.it/

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Ecophysiology of migratory songbirds crossing the Sahara

Research topics: Ecophysiology; Migration

Research location: Hotel Yasmina, Morocco

Study species: Passerines

This project revolves around the factors affecting stopover at the Northern edge of the Sahara Desert during spring migration. Our research is conducted in a dry lake bed (only rarely filled with water) surrounded by tamarisks, a very tiny oasis in an otherwise rocky and sandy desert, which attracts good numbers of passerine migrants. The strength of this location lies in the fact that it is very small, allowing the majority of birds landing there to be captured and marked and easily followed during their stopover. Some species use the site for quite long stopovers of up to three weeks, which is an interesting and unexpected pattern for such a small patch (about 4 ha).

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Pied Flycatcher Network (piedfly.net)

Research topic: Breeding ecology

Research locations: Arlington Court, Devon; Devon and Somerset woodlands; East Dartmoor NNR

Study species: Pied Flycatcher

PiedFly.Net is a science based non-profit organisation co-ordinating community participation in monitoring Pied Flycatchers and other hole-nesting woodland birds to contribute to science and monitoring projects. The network co-ordinates monitoring of nest box schemes with breeding populations of Pied Flycatchers across southwest England. It is run by Malcolm Burgess. See www.piedfly.net.

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The Nigerian Bird Atlas

Research topic: Distribution

Research location: Nigeria

Knowledge about the distribution of bird species in Nigeria has historically been presented in detailed checklists such as “The Birds of Nigeria” by Elgood et al. (1993), "Birds of Africa" etc. However, over the last 50 and especially during the last 20-30 years, the environment in Nigeria has gone through great changes mainly due to increase in the human population. This has increased the pressure on birds and other biodiversity and has certainly also impacted the distribution of the country's avifauna. A more recent and updated assessment of the distribution of the country's biodiversity is thus not only important but also very urgently needed.

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Intra-African migrant birds: ecology and conservation

Research topic: Full annual cycle

Study species: Some migrant species

A large-scale and long-term study to explore connectivity, movement, variation and potential speciation in populations of intra-African migrant bird species that have a core range across sub-Saharan Africa.

Linking breeding ecology with migration

Research topics: Breeding ecology; Migration routes; Mountain ecology; Climate Change

Study species: Northern Wheatear

Intra-african bird migration on the coast of Kenya

Research topics: Geolocation tracking; Migration routes

Study speciess: Mangrove Kingfisher; Red-capped Robin-chat

Discover destination, timing and drivers of the migration of Mangrove Kingfisher and Red-capped Robin Chat using geolocators.

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Strait of Messina Bird Observatory

Research topic: Migration

Research location: Strait of Messina

Study species: Eurasian birds of prey

The project was launched in 2014 as a side activity of a visual and radar monitoring of birds on migration near a new powerline of TERNA on the Strait of Messina. It is ongoing as a collaboration between Ornis italica (www.ornisitalica.com) and MEDRAPTORS (www.raptormigration.org). Our website: www.straitobservatory.com.

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Batumi Raptor Count

Research topic: Migration

Research location: Eastern Black Sea coast

Study species: Eurasian birds of prey

BRC is a research and conservation project working on migratory birds (of prey) at the eastern Black Sea coast of the Republic of Georgia and consists of a highly dynamic and forward-thinking team of young biologists and nature enthusiasts.

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Space-use and behaviour of Montagu’s Harriers

Research topic: Full annual cycle

Study species: Montagu's Harrier

Amur Bird Project

Research topics: Full annual cycle; Migration

Research location: Muraviovka Park, Russia

Volunteer-based bird migration research, long-term monitoring, conservation and environmental education at Muraviovka Park in Far East Russia. Organized since 2011 by Wieland Heim. View blog here.

Breeding ecology and migration of Sedge Warblers

Research topics: Breeding ecology; Migration

Research location: Van Oordt's Mersken

Study species: Sedge Warbler

Operation Baltic

Research topics: Climate Change; Migration; Migration routes; Migratory connectivity

Study species: Passerines

Operation Baltic is a network of three bird ringing stations Mierzeja Wiślana, Bukowo-Kopań and Hel at the Baltic coast, which have ringed and measured migrant birds each year with constant standards since 1960 to this day. It is a citizen science project, conducted by the Bird Migration Research Station (BMRS) of the Faculty of Biology at the University of Gdańsk in Poland. Operation Baltic focuses on studying the biology and ecology of passerines and other migrants in spring (March – May) and autumn (August – November) passage along the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea. During more than 60 years of field work Operation Baltic’s volunteers have ringed more than 1,6 million of birds of 207 species. More than 1 million migrants have been measured in detail (wing and tail length, wing formula, fat score and weight) by calibrated ringers, which is the largest set of consistent biometric data on vertebrates in the world. Thousands of ringed birds have produced more than 10 000 ringing recoveries for many species, which confirmed that the southern Baltic coast is a crossroad of migration routes for birds within Euro-African migration system.

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Turtle Dove solution trialling (UK)

Research topic: Breeding ecology

Research location: Senegal

Study species: Turtle Dove

During 2011-2015, Turtle Doves have been monitored in the UK to determine their foraging, breeding and ranging behaviour in order to determine whether trial conservation interventions positively impact breeding success.

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BirdLife Netherlands

Research topic: Migration

BirdLife Netherlands is part of the East Atlantic Flyway Initiative of BirdLife. We are working on waterbird conservation to create a pearl string of stop over, wintering and breeding sites that are well protected. Also we are working with national BirdLife partners in North Africa and West Africa to research landbird migration and work with local communities on land restoration and well managed landscapes for landbirds.

Non-breeding ecology Pied Flycatcher

Research topics: Full annual cycle; Non-breeding ecology

Research location: Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast

Study species: Pied Flycatcher